Wellington, March 8 (UNI) Lea Tahuhu has announced her retirement from One-Day International (ODI) cricket after a 15-year career with the New Zealand women’s national cricket team, as per the New Zealand Cricket website.
Since making her ODI debut as a 20-year-old against Australia in Brisbane in 2011, Tahuhu has represented New Zealand in 103 ODIs, claiming 125 wickets, the most by a bowler for the White Ferns in the format.
Tahuhu is also among just 12 players to have played more than 100 ODI matches for New Zealand’s women’s team and was part of four editions of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Selected in the International Cricket Council Women’s ODI Team of the Year in 2023, Tahuhu said the time had come to step away from the 50-over format.
“It’s always been a privilege and honour to pull on the White Ferns shirt in ODI cricket,” she said.
“To get one game was an amazing feeling. To have been able to wear the shirt and represent my country and my family over 100 times in ODI cricket is something I never could have dreamt of.
“I’ll treasure every moment and walk away from the ODI game incredibly proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in the format.”
New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer praised Tahuhu for her outstanding contribution to the team and her remarkable record in ODI cricket.
“Stepping down from a format as your country’s all-time leading wicket-taker is some achievement that Lea should be very proud of,” Sawyer said.
“Lea has scaled the heights of the ODI game and has set new bowling standards in the format for the White Ferns.”
Tahuhu will continue to represent New Zealand in the T20I format as the team prepares to defend its title at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Kingdom in June and July this year.
“There’s plenty of exciting things ahead, and I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to this team in the T20 format,” she said.
“Winning the T20 World Cup in 2024 was a huge achievement and I’m really motivated to be over in England later this year to help this team defend our title.”
